A collection of wealth improvement articles

The term "kiddie tax" was introduced by the Tax Reform Act of 1986. The IRS introduced this rule to keep parents from shifting their investment income to their children and have this income taxed at their child's lower tax rate. The law requires a child's unearned income (generally dividends, interest, and capital gains) above a certain amount to be taxed using the estate and trust tax tables. Here is what you need to know.

Who it applies to

Children under the age of 19

Children under the age of 24 if a full-time student and providing less than ½ of their own financial support

Children with unearned income above $2,100 ($2,200 in 2019)

Who/What it does NOT apply to

Earned income (wages and self-employed income from things like babysitting or paper routes).

Children that are over age 18 and have earnings providing more than ½ of their support.

Older children married and filing jointly

Children over age 19 that are not full-time students

Gifts received by your child during the year

How it works

The first $1,050 of unearned income is generally tax-free

The next $1,050 of unearned income is taxed at the child's (usually lower) tax rate

The excess over $2,100 is taxed using the estate and trust tax table

What to know/do now

Maximize your low tax investment options. Look to generate gains on your child's investment accounts to maximize the use of your child's kiddie tax threshold each year. You could consider selling stocks to capture your child's investment gains and then buy the stock back later to establish a higher cost basis.

Be careful to plan your child's level of unearned income. It might inadvertently raise taxes in surprising ways by exposing more income to tax rates that could be higher than yours. With new tax rules, the risk of this occuring is reduced, but not fully eliminated.

Leverage gifts. If your children are not maximizing their tax-free investment income each year consider gifting funds to allow for unearned income up to the kiddie tax thresholds. Just be careful, as these assets can have an impact on a child's financial aid when approaching college age years.

Properly managed, the "kiddie tax" rules can be used to your advantage. But if not properly managed, this part of the tax code can create an unwelcome surprise at tax time.